NEARLY 300 workers at a Wrexham power cable plant are set to take strike action amid a pensions row.

Workers at the Prysmian Cables plant, formerly Pirelli, voted to hit the picket line after bosses said they were closing the firm’s final salary pension scheme.

Union leaders fear staff could miss out on vital cash if plans to switch to a defined contributions scheme go ahead.

Members on the Wrexham Industrial site voted by 127 to 45 to take strike action and the plant could now go it alone, with 289 union members taking to the picket line.

Workers at the company’s other plants in Aberdare, South Wales, and Eastleigh, Hampshire, voted for industrial action, short of a strike.

Senior union stewards from all three plants will now meet to discuss the strategy for future action.

Graham Rogers, regional organiser from the Unite union, said: “The strength and depth of the feeling at Wrexham is very strong, workers who have paid for years into this pension scheme are going to lose money from their pensions if this change goes through.”

A long term worker said he has taken early retirement to avoid missing out if the scheme changes. He said: “The vote shows how strongly the workforce in Wrexham feel about this proposal to freeze the scheme as this will affect the pensions of many of the staff here who are in the final salary scheme.

“This is a huge concern to many of us. I have taken the decision to terminate my employment before the change is made on August 1 to secure my pension rights. This is not what I planned to do but this decision forces me to do this.”

Under the proposal, Prysmian Cables will switch employees’ pension funds from a final salary pension scheme to a defined contributions scheme.

Mr Rogers added: “Members in Wrexham have voted in favour of taking strike action and could go it alone. A meeting of senior stewards from all plants will take place next week.”

Final salary pension schemes take contributions from employee and employer, and guarantee a payout based on the percentage of salary, multiplied by the number of years the worker has been in the scheme. Defined contributions are not as generous and are based on fixed rate contributions – meaning long term staff receive fewer rewards.